By Danjuma Amodu
ACCRA – The ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC) has begun a four-day strategic meeting in Accra, Ghana, to assess its achievements over the past four years and chart a new course for advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment across the West African sub-region.
The meeting, running from July 28 to 31, brings together Gender Focal Points from ECOWAS member states to review the Centre’s performance between 2022 and 2026, while defining strategic priorities that will guide its programmes over the next four years.
A key feature of the gathering is the finalisation of the operational framework for the ECOWAS Gender Observatory (ECOGO), an initiative designed to strengthen the collection, analysis and dissemination of gender-related data to support evidence-based policymaking on issues affecting women and girls across the region.
The observatory is expected to become a major instrument for generating reliable gender statistics and analyses that will enable governments and regional institutions to formulate more effective policies aimed at reducing gender inequalities and improving the socio-economic conditions of women and girls.
The annual meeting is being held under the leadership of the ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, Professor Fatou Sow Sarr, who institutionalised the gathering following the signing of the Saly Oath in 2023.
“The Saly Oath formalised our collective commitment to promote gender equality and strengthen cooperation between the Centre and national institutions to deliver real results for women and girls.”
— Prof. Fatou Sow Sarr, ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs
The Saly Oath committed Gender Focal Points across ECOWAS member states to promote the regional bloc’s agenda on gender equality and the empowerment of women, while strengthening collaboration between the Gender Development Centre and national institutions responsible for gender affairs.
According to the Centre, successive editions of the annual meeting have helped consolidate previous achievements, deepen collaboration among member states and reinforce a results-based management framework for implementing gender programmes across the region.
It noted that Gender Focal Points have evolved into strategic partners of the Centre, serving as the principal interface between the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre and member states by facilitating the implementation, coordination and monitoring of regional gender initiatives.
The Accra meeting is expected to produce a renewed roadmap that will guide the Centre’s interventions through 2030, with greater emphasis on evidence-driven policymaking, institutional collaboration and improved monitoring mechanisms.
The deliberations come at a time when ECOWAS has intensified efforts to mainstream gender across its development agenda, recognising that empowering women and girls is critical to achieving inclusive economic growth, sustainable peace, democratic governance and social development in West Africa.
Over the years, the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre has spearheaded several regional initiatives aimed at combating gender-based violence, promoting women’s participation in governance and peacebuilding, expanding women’s access to economic opportunities, and strengthening legal and institutional frameworks that protect the rights of women and girls.
The establishment of the ECOWAS Gender Observatory is widely viewed as another significant milestone in the bloc’s drive to ensure that policies and development programmes are informed by credible gender data, enabling member states to better measure progress towards regional and global gender equality commitments, including the Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
